ONE!
This summerıs sizzler was certainly the 50th Anniversary Celebration kick
off! Everywhere you look and everyone you talk to . . . the buzz is about the
anniversary of Americaıs Favorite Sports car, our Corvette!
In automotive press all around the world, Corvettes are on the cover and
in-between the pages! In the racing venue, Corvette continues to dominate the
American Le Mans Series and the 24-Hours of Le Mans. In June, the Corvette
Racing team took home their 2nd consecutive 1st place finish at the grueling
24-Hours of Le Mans! This is where the worldıs best come to play and compete to
see who really is "KING OF THE HILL." For the 2nd year, American V8-powered
fiberglass rules! At this point, Corvette is well on its way to a perfect race
season in the American Le Mans series! An unheard-of feat in the world of
racing!
Although most of us own the newest generation Corvette, the C5, itıs
important to dwell on the history of our beloved Corvette. Two books that I
highly recommend for Corvette reading include Jerry Burtonıs Zora
Arkus-Duntov: The Legend Behind the Corvette, (Bentley Publishers, 2002) and
Corvette From The Inside (Bentley Publishers, 2002), by Dave McLellan. These
fabulous publications help bring the history of Corvette to life. As a note,
when you purchase your copies, keep them with you! Burton and McLellan are often
at C5 events at the NCM and would be happy to personalize your copy! A nice
touch for your Corvette collection.
Enough about history! What about the future? We are planning some big things
for next year including the 6th Annual C5 Registry Birthday Bash, April 24-27,
and the 50th Anniversary Celebration
Letıs talk about Corvette in 2004 . . . . . the last production year of the
great 5th generation Corvette. All reports indicate that the new C6 will make
its long-awaited introduction in model year 2005. This means that you can
probably place your order and see production sometime in the fall of 2004. I am
speculating here, but I believe the new C6 will be more of an evolution of
Corvette than a revolution such as the C5 was compared to the C4. Donıt get me
wrong . . . the C6 is NOT going to be a "tweaked² C5 by any means! But I believe
it will be natural flow of C5 design objectives. . . . just doing everything
better than our C5. In other words, this means shorter mass, higher quality
(especially interior), more standard horsepower (for Coupe and Convertible) and
better handling
(which translates into faster lap times). If the C5 Corvette was
a world class challenger in the sports car arena, the C6 is going to be the
"DOMINATOR" of world class sports cars! In ı04 we can hope that the powers to be
at Corvette Marketing have been able to put together a "inal year treat" for
us. In 1996, which was also considered a carry-over year, the C4 Marketing team
came up with a pretty cool Collectorıs Edition (silver) and 1000 Grand Sports
(blue with a white stripe). This Collectorıs Edition included the LT4 (used only
in 1996) with
30+ horsepower for all 6-speed Corvettes. These C4 special editions were
30+ a big hit for Corvette enthusiasts.
We would expect Corvette to continue this tradition into the 2004 model year.
Just an idea...with all the winning the C5-R Corvette Race Team has brought to
us, the fans, maybe a tribute to their fabulous race seasons would make a great
Collectors Edition. For the first time in Corvette history we have seen the C5
Corvette Pace Cars pacing Daytona and Le Mans, so what better tribute than a
Race inspired Collectors Edition. Members, what do you think? Maybe we should
send Marketing some ideas, and this time letıs make sure the Z06 model is
included!
Itıs been a great summer, but hold on to your Corvette racing hats . . .
because next year itıs going to be wild!
Weıd like to hear from you
It would be great to include more "letters to the editor² in future issues of
the C5 Registry newsletter. They can be about most any subject related to
Corvettes. It can be small blurb about your latest trip, maybe something about a
technical issue you were able to solve, suggestions for the C5 Registry or the
newsletter, or even your museum delivery! This is your newsletter and Jake and I
want to hear from you! And your fellow members want to hear as well! So sharpen
those pencils, flex those fingers and pound those keys! You can email us at
c5dan@c5registry.com or send your letter via land mail to:
C5 Registry, P.O. Box 541023
Merritt Island, FL 32954-1023
ONE!